Washington

SkB Architects loved its old offices in downtown Seattle, but the 22-person firm had outgrown the space. So partners Shannon Rankin, Kyle Gaffney, and Brian Collins-Friedrichs went looking for new digs with extreme makeover potential.

Being your own developer, designer, and builder offers the freedom to align your creativity and your beliefs with your business. But there's no doubt you also take on all the risk. Pb Elemental Architecture decided to play its game of chance with this 6,000-square-foot lot located in a sketchy...

Located on a large, private lot in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, this custom home combines a clear and incisive plan, thoughtfully shaped spaces, inventive detailing, and meticulous craftsmanship in a tour-de-force of residential architecture and construction.

The great ones make it look easy. Houses, that is. When a custom home is fully resolved—when the design is inspired, the craftsmanship spot-on, and owner, architect, and builder fully in sync—the result betrays nothing of the effort expended in its creation.

Architects who favor a streamlined approach to design in Washington, D.C., have often felt constrained by the city's prevailing preference for traditional styles. But times are changing, just a bit, and local design pros are discovering more clients willing to push the envelope and embrace the...

For several years, architect Kyle Gaffney made occasional visits to a friend's vacation house in Orondo, Wash. He learned all the area's secrets—the best places to water-ski, the idiosyncrasies of the local weather, and the endless variety of fruit grown